


It Only Takes a Taste

by deadgranger



Category: Waitress - Bareilles/Nelson
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: HPFT, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Past Domestic Violence, Post-Waitress, Romance, Slow Burn, post-show
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:28:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21557782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadgranger/pseuds/deadgranger
Summary: It's been six years since Jenna last saw Dr. Pomatter after giving birth to her daughter, Lulu. When he suddenly makes a reappearance in her pie shop, how is she going to deal with it?
Relationships: Becky/Cal (Waitress), Jenna Hunterson/Jim Pomatter, Ogie Anhorn/Dawn Williams
Comments: 34
Kudos: 51





	1. Afternoon Delight Pie

It’s been six years since Jenna had Lulu. Six years since she’d told Earl she wanted a divorce. Six years since she’d broken things off with Dr. Pomatter. Six years since she’d been left Joe’s Pie Diner by Old Joe. Five years since she’d gotten her own apartment for her and Lulu. Four years since she’d renamed the diner to Lulu’s Pies. Three years since she’d last had to see Earl before he got carted off to prison for violating the terms of their divorce and the restraining order. Two years since she’d won the National Pie Contest in Springfield. One year since Lulu had started pre-school. 

And now? Now, she was happy. More than happy enough. 

That was in jeopardy as soon as a tall, dark-haired man stepped into the diner one slow Wednesday morning and stopped Jenna in her tracks. Luckily he hadn’t seen her yet, so she quickly ducked underneath the counter and backed towards the kitchen. Becky came walking out of the kitchen and almost ran into Jenna but stopped as she saw who was standing in the entrance of the diner. 

“Oh, shit!” she whispered, dragging Jenna back into the kitchen with her. Cal gave them an annoyed look but kept to cooking the next breakfast order as Dawn was taking a couple’s order in her section. 

Jenna and Becky peered out the windows of the double doors at the man, ducking when he turned his head their way. “What the hell is he doing here, Jenna?” Becky asked accusingly. 

“I don’t know!” Jenna flailed. “I-I haven’t even seen him since Lulu was born and I ended it!” 

Becky peeked back out of the window. “Well it looks like poor Dawn’s serving him now. What are you going to do? You can’t hide in here until he leaves!” 

“I know that, Becky! Oh shit, what am I going to do?” Jenna muttered. 

“Don’t ask me, Jenna! I gotta get back out there or Cal’s going to be mad, sorry girl,” Becky replied, pushing the door open and stepping back out onto the floor and clearly avoiding looking at the man sitting at the table on the far side of the diner. 

Dawn rushed over to her at the pickup window, bouncing with nervous energy. “Becky, I just took that nice man sitting in Jenna’s section’s order for her, where is she?”

Becky whispered back, “She’s hiding in the kitchen and freaking out!” 

“Why?” 

“Because _that nice man_ is Dr. Pomatter!” 

“Oh, oh, _no_.” 

“Oh, _yes_.” 

“What are we going to do?” 

“ _We_ are going to do nothing, Dawn. This is Jenna’s thing to figure out, not ours,” Becky chastised her, holding her in place by the arm before she could run into the kitchen and start hyperventilating and make Jenna more anxious.

Jenna peered back out of the kitchen door window and immediately regretted it. Dr. Pomatter was in her line of sight, and he was just sitting there, looking at everything in the diner. She turned her back to the door and walked behind the spice rack to her workstation. 

“All right Jenna, time to invent a new pie. I’m going to call it, ‘My Ex-Gynecologist Ex-Lover Is Back After Six Years and I Don’t Know What to Do’ Pie. Mix together bittersweet chocolate and vanilla custard. Add cinnamon and a dash of allspice, cloves, and slices of banana. Cover with a thick layer of crust. Watch carefully in the oven so it doesn’t explode,” Jenna talked to herself as she grabbed ingredients from the shelves. 

She looked down at the pie in front of her, seeing a jumbled mess of ingredients and a cracked pie crust. Sighing, she said, “What the hell am I doing?” 

Cleaning up the mess and throwing it in the garbage, she wiped her hands of flour on her apron. She put her fists on her hips and stared down at her worktable. “Get a grip on yourself, girl. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for him showing up here six years after everything happened that has absolutely nothing to do with me.” 

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Jenna walked back to the kitchen doors and saw Becky and Dawn staring furiously at her through the windows. Jenna stepped out and quickly walked to the counter, where the two other waitresses and Cal, through his pick-up window, were waiting for her. 

“Well, did he order anything?” Jenna asked, fidgeting with the pen in her apron pocket to avoid looking at him. 

“Um, yes, he ordered a slice of the Afternoon Delight Pie,” Dawn answered, bouncing rapidly on her toes. 

“Fine, I’ll take it to him then, just so the three of you stop looking at me like that! Don’t you all have things to do?” Jenna commanded, taking his slice of pie in her hands and walking carefully across the diner. 

Dr. Pomatter looked at her as she approached him, his hands twisting nervously in his lap. The plate clattered loudly on the table as she set it down, her shaky hands betraying her composed expression. 

“A slice of Afternoon Delight Pie for you, Dr. Pomatter,” Jenna said quickly, wiping her hands reflexively on her apron and rocking back on her heels. 

“Oh, thank you so much, Jenna,” he said with his usual anxious manner, digging his fork out of the cloth napkin wrapping and taking a large bite. ‘Oh my god.” 

“You like it?” Jenna asked. 

Dr. Pomatter chewed and swallowed the large bite before responding. “This is unbelievably delicious. What’s in this?” 

“Oh, uh, it’s chocolate custard topped with slices of strawberries, melted caramel sauce, and whipped cream,” Jenna said. 

He took another huge bite and mumbled, “Holy shit.” 

Jenna laughed nervously, feeling a little deja vu, and turned back to Becky and Dawn, who were just staring at her from the counter, poorly pretending to clean off menus. She gave them a glare and turned back to face Dr. Pomatter, who was openly looking at her with something like awe on his face. 

She cleared her throat, causing him to jump and almost spill the rest of his pie onto his lap. He saved the plate, though, and slid it back to safety in the middle of the table. 

“Sorry about that, I got a little lost in my head,” he apologized. 

“Oh it’s fine,” Jenna replied. 

He gave her an anxious smile and returned to eating the pie. Jenna nodded, mostly to herself, and walked away before she could hear another of his ridiculous exclamations of how good her pie was and fail to keep her nerve. Becky and Dawn immediately dragged her into the kitchen when she reached the counter, much to the annoyance of Cal. 

Knowing she still had pies to prepare for the afternoon, Jenna got out a ball of dough and began rolling it out on her workstation, refusing to speak. Becky folded her arms over her chest and Dawn jiggled her leg apprehensively, neither of them willing to break the silence. Jenna had the pie crust rolled out and was cutting the excess edges off of the pie tin when Becky finally caved. 

“Well what did he say? You were over there for a very long time,” she exclaimed. 

“Not much, just that my pie was delicious,” Jenna sighed, ignoring the all-too-familiar yet unwanted feeling settling in the pit of her belly that his words caused. 

Becky looked at her exasperatedly as Dawn went to peek out of the kitchen door windows. “Come on, girl, what aren’t you telling us? Did he say anything about why he was here?” 

Jenna raised her hands in defeat. “I didn’t get a chance to ask him, I walked away before we talked about more than the damn pie.” 

Dawn came back to the table with alarm on her face. “Uh, Jenna? Do you want me to pick up his empty plate or will you do it so Cal doesn’t glare at me again?” 

“I’ll do it, Dawn, he is at my station anyway. Can you finish this Lulu Lemonade Pie for me, please? Becky, you’re coming with me,” Jenna said. 

“What are you doing, Jenna?” Becky asked, apprehensive. 

“I’m going to make my peace with Dr. Pomatter, and you’re going to listen while taking the orders of the group that just came in,” Jenna said pointedly. 

“Fine,” Becky replied, snagging four menus to take to table eight while Jenna walked to Dr. Pomatter’s table. 

Jenna noticed his plate had been scraped clean as she approached, and she squished down the weird feeling in her belly. He smiled broadly at her when she reached the table, hands twisting in his lap again. 

“Can I get you anything else, Dr. Pomatter? Coffee, orange juice?” Jenna asked, pulling out her ticket pad and pen. 

“Oh, uh, no thank you, coffee just makes me jittery,” Dr. Pomatter answered. “This was kind of an impulse stop, if I’m being honest.” 

She gripped her pen and ticket pad tighter. “Is that so?” 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m really just stopping through on my way from Connecticut to visit some family in Springfield for a milestone wedding anniversary of my great-aunt and uncle. I thought I’d stop here as a nice break point, see how things were, and, uh, for some...pie.” 

She blushed a little and couldn’t hold back a small smile. “Well, that’s nice Dr. Pomatter. Wait, you’re driving all of the way from Connecticut to Illinois? Why wouldn’t you just fly and save all of that time?” 

“I couldn’t find any flights for cheap so I just packed up and started driving. Besides, I like driving. It lets me relax and think,” he chuckled. 

They both jumped a little at the sound of Becky setting a napkin dispenser down too hard on the next table over; Jenna risked a glance at her. Becky mouthed “sit down” at her and turned back to clearing the table and pretending to ignore their conversation. 

“Do you mind if I sit, Dr. Pomatter?” 

“Oh, no, please, sit,” he gestured to the open seat across from him and sat up straighter in his chair. 

The two of them sat in awkward silence for a moment, neither one sure of where to go from there. Jenna flicked her gaze to Dr. Pomatter’s left hand, now resting on the table, and was less surprised than she should have been to the absence of his wedding ring on his fourth finger. Not wanting to read into anything, she decided to stick to a safe topic. 

Jenna put her hands in her lap and asked, “So, how’s the drive been treating you so far? It’s been chillier here than normal for September, but I don’t know if you’ve had colder weather in Connecticut.”

“It’s been the usual September chill for us, thankfully, so the drive has been pretty good with some of the leaves starting to change already,” he replied cheerfully. 

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ll get much of that this year, the wind has already been tearing the trees apart. Lulu’s not going to have a leaf pile to play in much this fall,” Jenna said. 

Dr. Pomatter asked, “That’s your daughter, right?” 

Jenna nodded her affirmation. “Yeah, she just turned six in July. I can’t believe how fast she’s growing up. Sometimes I feel like she’s six going on thirty-six.” 

That got a chuckle out of Dr. Pomatter. “It is crazy seeing them grow up, isn’t it? One of my first patients after med school came back to see me the other week with two more than she’d had when I last saw her. Her oldest was already in third grade and had a lot of questions I definitely could not answer in front of her mother.” 

They both laughed, and Jenna felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. She’d forgotten after six years how easy he was to talk to and the ease with which he continued a conversation. The lull here was natural, though, so she smoothed her hands down her apron and made to stand up. Dr. Pomatter rose just as she did, forcing her to tilt her head up to look him in the eyes.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you from your family too long, I know Springfield is still a solid eight hours from here,” Jenna said. 

“Oh, it’s no trouble, honestly. It was nice seeing you again, Jenna,” Dr. Pomatter smiled, pulling out his wallet and leaving a crisp twenty dollar bill on the table. “Keep the change, please. You and your pie have improved my morning immensely.” 

Jenna blushed at the compliment and stammered, “We-well thank you, Dr. Pomatter. Would you like a slice of pie for the road?” 

His eyes lit up even more than they already were, giving Jenna her answer. She scurried over to the display case and boxed up another slice of the Afternoon Delight pie and holding it out to him. “On the house, Dr. Pomatter. It’s a long drive, you’ll need the sugar boost,” she explained.

He smiled and took the box from her, his fingers just barely missing her own. “Thank you, Jenna. I’ll likely be coming back this way in a few days, so I’ll do my best to stop back in.” 

She grinned at him and said, “Goodbye, Dr. Pomatter.”

“Goodbye, Jenna.” 

With that, he walked out of the diner and Jenna released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She quickly cleared the table of his plate, wiping it down and dropping the dirty plate in the bin next to the kitchen doors. On the register she cleared out his order and put the twenty inside the cash drawer. 

As if summoned by the ding of the register drawer closing, Becky and Dawn sidled up on either side of her at the counter. Jenna rolled her eyes and pulled out her notepad, already thinking of ideas for a new pie or two she wanted to try next week and scribbling down the ingredients she’d need for them that she didn’t already have in the pantry. 

“Jenna you can’t pretend like we’re not here, you know,” Becky complained, pulling the pen from Jenna’s hand as Dawn simultaneously grabbed the notepad from her other hand.

“Girls, it was just a quick chat, I don’t know what all the fuss is about,” Jenna said. 

Becky and Dawn exchanged a look. “Did you at least find out if he’s still married to Francine?” Dawn asked. 

“No I didn’t, it really was a quick chat. We just talked about his travel to Springfield to visit family and the weather, and _that’s all_ ,” Jenna answered, retrieving her pen and notepad from their hands. 

“Did he say anything about coming back?” Becky probed, expression unreadable. 

Jenna threw her hands up. “You two are insatiable!” she exclaimed, sighing. ‘But yes, he said he’d try to make it here again on his way back to Connecticut in a few days.” 

Dawn squealed while Becky tried to hide a little fist pump from Jenna’s vision. “It doesn’t mean anything though, girls! We all know he just really likes my pies, and that’s not a deciding factor for whatever you think it is,” Jenna said. 

“Whatever you say, doll,” Becky relinquished, loading her serving tray up with the breakfasts of the group in her section. 

Dawn gave Jenna a sheepish smile before scurrying off to the back to reorganize something that only she thought would need reorganizing, leaving Jenna to her thoughts and ingredients list. 

As she wrote down more ingredients for what she was loosely dubbing the ‘Crisp Autumn Breeze Pie’, a thought crossed her mind that had her mildly panicking. What if he did come back, though? What kind of pie would he want? Should she make him one of her usual specialties or craft something new? What if he came while Lulu was here? She’d have a lot of explaining to do to her little girl, but she didn’t know if she could handle that right now. 

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she tucked the notepad and pen back into her apron and went into the kitchen, kicking Dawn out of the pantry to man the counter so she could work in peace. Time to bake and bake and let it take over, let the rhythm and familiarity of the pastry slow her racing thoughts to the pace of a six year old, put all of herself into her pies until she felt nothing but calm and collected. 

An unexpected visit from Dr. Pomatter after six years in her pie shop couldn’t--no, wouldn’t--throw her off for more than an hour or two. She refused to let his charming smile and praise of her baking weasel its way out of the firm grip she had on her heart. Things ended the way they did because she was doing what was best for her and for Lulu. That still hadn’t changed. A second visit from Dr. Pomatter in a few days definitely wouldn’t change that. 

Would it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to my latest Broadway obsession....Waitress the Musical! I'm not entirely sure how long this will be, but hey it's a fun thing and a new fandom for me to write for, so I'm having fun! Later chapters will likely mention the relationship between Jenna & Earl, so I have pre-tagged for that. Any and all comments and feedback is greatly appreciated. :) 
> 
> ~Madi


	2. Crisp Autumn Breeze Pie Slice One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a busy weekend at the pie diner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has not been edited or proofread at all, so any and all mistakes are truly mine!

As much as Jenna hoped that her run-in with Dr. Pomatter wouldn’t do much to her brain, she was completely wrong. Her first attempt at the new pie burned to a crisp in the oven while she was too busy thinking about his deep blue eyes and soft smile. After dumping the pie in the trash and salvaging the pin tin, she started a new batch of the pumpkin and vanilla custard filling. While that stirred in the mixer, she got to work on a new crust, adding some cinnamon and cocoa powder to the flour before working in the butter. She made sure to keep an eye on the pie this time, ensuring the crust turned perfectly golden-brown and the pumpkin filling baked all the way through. 

Becky came through about halfway through its baking time, saying nothing, but giving Jenna the stink eye regardless. Jenna just clicked her tongue at Becky and returned her attention to the pie, frowning as one edge of the crust that was thinner than the rest was getting a lot darker faster than she liked. Pulling the pie out of the oven, Jenna tore a bit of aluminum foil off the roll and covered that part of the pie to prevent further darkening. She put the pie back inside, and let it bake unwatched for another eighteen minutes. Jenna had just put the pie on the cooling rack when Dawn beckoned her back out to the floor. 

“What is it, Dawn?” she asked. 

“Becky went on break outside a few minutes ago but I really need to use the restroom. Could you cover for me for a couple?” Dawn requested. 

“Sure thing, girl,” Jenna replied. 

“Thanks, Jenna,” Dawn said, scurrying off to the women’s restroom. 

Seeing as all of the customers had food in front of them, Jenna busied herself with some tidying up of the to-go containers underneath the front counter. She waved as one of her regulars, Miriam, put some cash on her table for a tip and started leaving the diner. 

“Have a good rest of your day, Miriam!” Jenna called. 

“Thank you, I will, Miss Jenna!” Miriam said. “Tell Miss Lulu she better be coming to visit me soon.” 

“I’ll tell her, Miriam,” Jenna smiled. 

The bell over the door tinkled as she exited. Dawn came back from the restroom and murmured a thank you to Jenna as she put her apron back on. Becky came in through the front door just then, pulling her coat off and hanging it on the coat rack. 

“How’s that new pie, Jenna?” Becky asked pointedly. 

“Oh, it’s probably done cooling now!” Jenna exclaimed, dashing to the kitchen. 

The Crisp Autumn Breeze Pie was cool to her touch, so she grabbed a few plates, a knife, and three forks. Jenna cut three small slices, and deftly carried them all through the double doors to the front counter. She handed forks to Becky and Dawn. They each took a bite simultaneously, chewing slowly as they worked through the flavor profile. Dawn had a grin on her face and Becky nodded approvingly at Jenna. 

“Well, I don’t know why I’m surprised, but you’ve done it again, girl,” Becky said. “Gonna make this a seasonal special or is it a limited time only pie?” 

“Don’t give me that, Becky, this is not a pie about _him_. It’s a pie for the weather,” Jenna said snarkily. 

“I for one think this is delicious and deserving of a spot on the fall pie specials list,” Dawn quipped, taking another large bite of her slice. 

“Thank you, Dawn, go ahead and add it to the list. It’s lighter than my standard pecan and pumpkin pies, so that should help balance the specials out,” Jenna mused. 

Becky finished off the last of her slice, dumping her plate and fork into the dirty dish bin. “Well, I guess it’s time for me to clean the bathrooms since we’ve got no customers right now.”

“Thanks Becky, I’ve gotta get a few more pies prepped for the afternoon rush,” Jenna said. 

The three of them parted ways to complete their tasks. Time passed quickly for the rest of the day, until it was three twenty-seven and Lulu was hopping off the school bus at the corner down the street. Jenna was waiting outside the diner for her, crouching low to pick her daughter up and swing her around. She set Lulu back on the ground and held her daughter’s hand as they walked back to the diner.

“How was school, baby girl?” Jenna asked her.

“It was soooo good, mama! We got cookies in class today because it was Samantha’s birthday,” Lulu answered. 

Jenna made a mental note not to give her anything sugary for dinner tonight. “That’s great, Lulu. How was science class with Ms. C?”

Lulu made a face. “It was _hard_ , mama. But I liked it! We learned about how things are made up of other different things and compare them together. Ms. C is really nice.” 

They reached the diner entrance as Jenna smiled at her little girl. Lulu really was growing up too fast, especially as she took charge and opened the front door all by herself and beckoned her mother inside. 

Becky and Dawn greeted Lulu with a chorus of “Hey, little girl!” as she jumped up on one of the stools at the front counter. She grinned back at them and reached into her backpack to grab a coloring book and crayons. Jenna held out her hand to receive the backpack after Lulu was finished, stashing it in its spot next to the to-go containers. Lulu got straight to work on her Disney princess coloring book, methodically shading the blue in Anastasia’s ballet attendance dress. Dropping a quick kiss to her hair, Jenna put her apron back on and went to the back to finish the prep work for tomorrow morning. 

Sitting front and center on her work table was the partially-served Crisp Autumn Breeze Pie. Jenna huffed at it, grabbing some aluminum foil to cover it and put it in the fridge. She went to the board to see what Becky and Dawn had gotten done. Satisfied they’d done their part for the day, she went to the pantry to get ingredients for a standard cherry pie. For the next hour and a half, Jenna put together three cherry pies and even a Wild, Wild Berry pie with the remaining mixed berries and cherries that would go bad the next day. Once everything was in the cooler and the surfaces wiped down, Jenna shut the lights off and walked out of the kitchen. 

“Baby girl, you ready for some dinner?” Jenna asked, untying her apron and putting it in her purse. 

“I’m starving, mama,” Lulu said dramatically. 

“Okay then, let’s get you some mac ‘n’ cheese when we get home,” Jenna chuckled. “Feel free to start closing up, Becky. And send Dawn home, please, she’s cleaning the bathroom signs again.” 

“Will do, Jenna,” Becky said, waving goodbye to Lulu. 

As Jenna walked to her car with Lulu, she couldn’t shake the feeling that had been weighing on her all day. The feeling that meant she was about to get head over heels into trouble, and there was no way to stop it or slow it down. But she had Lulu. Lulu slowed things down for her, so maybe she’d do the same with whatever the hell this was, too. Jenna had to hope for that, had to hope she’d not throw caution to the wind, had to believe in the strength of her love for her precious daughter. 

Jenna lay awake until nearly three a.m. that night, images of Dr. Pomatter from six years ago to this morning swimming across her mind, and the echo of his sort-of promise to come by again for pie on his way back to Connecticut, back to his real life, back to Francine, back to everything she never would or could be. Sighing, she turned over, trying to calm her thoughts to go to sleep. Eventually, she drifted off after reciting lists of pie ingredients and various combinations they made. Damn that man. 

~*~*~*~*~

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all passed as usual at the diner. Saturday afternoon had a bit of a rush that had Jenna scrambling to make more of her fall fruit pies; they were going faster than she’d planned for on Wednesday and she hadn’t yet gotten all of her new produce in so she was having to substitute ingredients on the fly. She didn’t even have time to pick Lulu up from her friend Hannah’s mom outside after their playdate ended at three-thirty, so Dawn ran out and grabbed her. By the time Jenna felt like she caught up with the new orders, it was nearing five o’clock, and she hadn’t even seen her daughter yet. 

She scrubbed her hands clean of the flour and hip checked the kitchen doors to step out onto the floor. Dawn had settled Lulu in a quiet corner of the diner, where she was coloring away peacefully. Jenna mouthed a thank you to Dawn across the diner, who smiled in response. 

“Becky, do you have any tables right now?” Jenna asked. 

“Just the couple at table six, but I just gave them their check a minute ago,” Becky answered. 

“Great, once they’re closed out, go ahead and clock out, you’ve been here long enough today,” Jenna said. “Tell Cal he can start closing up the kitchen too, it’s almost five o’clock.” 

“Yes ma’am,” Becky smiled. 

Becky finished ringing up the couple’s ticket and leaned into the serving window to talk to Cal. Jenna smoothed her apron down and walked over to Lulu’s table. 

Crouching down, she looked at the drawing her daughter was working on today, which was Mulan. “Sorry I didn’t get to pick you up from your playdate, baby girl. The diner got real busy for me,” she apologized. 

“It’s okay, mama. I just got to color more anyway,” Lulu said, giving her mother a toothy grin. 

“Well I know how much you love that. Are you ready to go home soon?” 

“Yes please!” 

“All right, well you’ve got half an hour still, so finish up miss Mulan so we can put her up on the board before we leave,” Jenna said. 

“Okay mama!” 

Satisfied her daughter would stay sufficiently occupied while she closed up the diner, Jenna went back to the kitchen and started her closing prep work. Becky came in to grab her purse five minutes later and gave Jenna a cheery goodbye. Peeking out the windows, Jenna saw Dawn checking on the last of her tables, letting them know the kitchen was closed and that the diner would be closing in a half hour. 

She turned back to her workstation, where she had an unfinished list of pies to make tomorrow for the next week. Thank god the diner was only open until two on Sundays, or she would go crazy. Adding Crisp Autumn Breeze and two Apple Delicious pies to the list, she put her pen back in her apron and tacked the list to the board. With practiced ease, she wiped down all the surfaces and washed the remaining dishes from her afternoon bake craze, leaving them to dry in the dish rack overnight. Happy with her work, she turned out the lights, grabbing both her and Dawn’s purses. 

Dawn was closing out the register at the front, her last table having left already, leaving them alone in the diner with Lulu. 

“Lulu, are you done with Mulan?” Jenna called to her daughter. “Bring your things, baby girl, it’s time to go home.” 

Lulu jumped up out of her seat, yet carefully put all of her crayons back in their box and the rest of her things into her backpack before walking up to the counter with her drawing in hand. “I’m all done, mama! Do you like it?” 

Jenna reached for the paper in Lulu’s hand, smiling widely at her girl’s precise coloring in of Mulan’s dress and hair. Mushu the dragon was a mix of red, orange, and yellow, but she thought it was still lovely. 

“Do you want to help me put it up on the board this time?” Jenna inquired. 

“Can I, please?” Lulu begged. 

“Of course, sweet girl. Here, you hold onto it and I’ll lift you high enough. Don’t poke yourself with the tack,” Jenna instructed. 

Lulu held her drawing in both hands as Jenna raised her by the waist, bracing Lulu against her chest. Gingerly pulling one of the colorful tacks out of the corkboard, Lulu straightened her drawing before sticking the tack in the top center of the paper. Jenna slowly let her daughter down to the floor, not wanting to hurt her back by letting her go too quickly. She’d learned that lesson three weeks ago and was out of commission for a full two days because of it. She grabbed another tack and stuck it in the bottom of the drawing to flatten it out. 

“Okay Miss Lulu, where is your coat?” 

Her daughter’s face dropped for a second until she remembered where she’d put it. Lulu dashed to the table she’d been sitting at, picking her coat off the back of her chair. 

“All right, kitchen’s all good to go. Have a good night, you three,” Cal said, lumbering out of the door with a two finger salute. 

“Bye, Cal!” Jenna and Dawn chorused. 

Dawn slipped on her jacket as Lulu dashed back to them, coat on askew. Jenna knelt down and fixed it, zipping her up against the fall chill. 

“Dawn, you’re coming in tomorrow to open with me instead of Becky, right?” Jenna asked. 

“Yep, I’ll be in at seven,” Dawn replied. “Ogie said he’s probably going to come by mid-morning with little Kenny for breakfast.” 

“Oh great, Lulu’s been wanting to see both of them again, isn’t that right, darling?” Jenna said. 

Lulu nodded her head vigorously. “Kenny’s _so_ small, I was never that small I know it!” 

The two women chuckled as they turned out the lights and walked to the front door with Lulu. “Well you were smaller than that when you were in my belly, Lulu,” Jenna said. 

“I know _that_ , mama. But I was bigger that Kenny was when I was born, obviously,” Lulu said, gesticulating for emphasis as Jenna locked the doors behind them. 

“Yes, darling, you were a big baby for mama here,” Dawn chimed in, elbowing Jenna in the side teasingly. 

“See, I told you mama!” 

“Say goodbye to Auntie Dawn, Lulu,” Jenna said. 

“Bye Auntie Dawn, see you tomorrow!” Lulu recited dutifully. 

Dawn waved goodbye and walked to her car on the other end of the parking lot. 

Jenna got Lulu buckled in and listened to her chatter the whole drive home until dinner was ready. Clearly she’d exhausted herself at Hannah’s house earlier, so Lulu was nodding off just after seven thirty while the two of them were watching a show on PBS. Jenna gently picked her daughter up off of the couch, taking her to her bedroom to change into her pajamas and tuck her into bed for the night. Lulu was conscious enough to be helpful with changing clothes, and was asleep again before Jenna could even turn the light off. Jenna looked down at her sleeping daughter for a minute or two before leaving and closing the door behind her. She’d do absolutely anything for her daughter, of that she was certain. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sunday morning dawned bright and early at five thirty a.m. for Jenna, who definitely did not snooze her alarm for another fifteen minutes before getting out of bed. She got dressed, made coffee, and had already eaten her two slices of peanut butter toast before waking up Lulu at six thirty. Lulu sleepily obeyed her mother’s orders to put on a warm sweater and pants for her morning in the diner, rubbing her eyes as she appeared in the kitchen for her mother’s approval after brushing her teeth and using the bathroom. Jenna had Lulu settle in her lap so she could brush her hair, the one part of their Sunday morning routine that Jenna refused to give up or rush. 

They were ready to go at seven, and arrived to Lulu’s Pies at seven fifteen, forty-five minutes before it opened. Dawn and Cal were busy getting the kitchen ready to go for any early risers that would be in right away, so Jenna took a few minutes to get Lulu settled in with her in the back. Jenna got into her rhythm with the pies for the day quickly, Lulu still being tired enough that playing games on the tablet kept her occupied. 

Jenna was putting the last of the Apple Delicious pies into the oven at eight-thirty when Lulu said she was hungry. 

“What do you want Cal to make you today? Eggs and toast? An omelet? Pancakes?” 

Lulu thought through the options for a minute. “Omelet! With ham and extra cheese, please, mama.” 

“You got it, baby girl,” Jenna said, stepping through the doors to give Cal the breakfast order. “One small omelet with ham and extra cheese for little Lulu, please, Cal.” 

“Coming right up,” Cal said, already grabbing two eggs to start on it. 

“Thanks, Cal, just ring when it’s ready, I’ve got more pies to make still,” Jenna replied. 

“Sure thing, boss,” Cal said. 

Jenna smiled at Dawn before she pushed back through the double doors to keep working on the pies. “Breakfast is coming up, baby girl.” 

Lulu cheered and returned to the game she was playing on the tablet. The ding of the bell rang loudly through the kitchen a few minutes later. Jenna wiped her hands of flour on her apron and beckoned to Lulu. “Let’s get you fed.” 

The pair walked to the front counter, where Lulu hopped onto one of the barstools. Jenna grabbed her daughter’s omelet from the service window and a silverware set, placing it gently in front of Lulu. 

“Remember what I said last time?” Jenna asked. “Small pieces only, and blow on it before you eat it so you don’t burn your tongue again.” 

“Yes mama,” Lulu replied dutifully, unwrapping the napkin from around the silverware. 

Jenna gave her a glass of milk and watched as she got to work on her omelet, her tongue sticking out with fierce concentration as she cut appropriate-sized pieces and blew on each piece for a solid ten seconds before eating it. 

Dawn came back to the counter then and gave Cal table three’s breakfast order. “How is it back there, Jenna? Pie ingredients exploded everywhere yet?” 

The two women chuckled. “Not yet, little miss Lulu knows she has to eat breakfast before she gets to help me with the pies.” 

Lulu nodded her affirmation and took another bite of her omelet. 

“Well, she’s got about an hour until Ogie’s in with Kenny. I can’t believe how good he’s been with him in the mornings these last few weeks. Ogie was so scared to be alone with him for more than ten minutes the first six weeks after he was born. Amazing what a few months will do, isn’t it?” Dawn said. 

“Hey, I was about the same after she was born too, you know. I can’t believe I took so long of maternity leave with her though. If I ever have another kid I’m not taking three months off again, especially since I’ve gotta keep this place running. It’d be six weeks, maybe eight max, if the baby needed it more than me,” Jenna said. 

Dawn rolled her eyes. “And if you did try to come back to work at either of those times, we’d send you straight back to your house and lock you inside!” 

Jenna clicked her tongue. “Lulu, are you all done?” 

“Yes, mama,” Lulu answered, setting her fork down on the empty plate. 

Jenna picked it up and set it in the dirty dish bin and gave her daughter a broad smile. “Are you ready to help me make some pies then?” 

Lulu’s face brightened up immediately. “Yes, yes, yes!” 

“Well come on then, we don’t have all morning! Unless you want to miss seeing Uncle Ogie and Kenny?” Jenna beckoned her daughter off the stool and into the back room. 

The mother-daughter duo worked diligently to create six more pies for baking tomorrow and put in a batch each of apple tarts and berry turnovers into the oven when Ogie’s voice carried through the double doors, announcing his and Kenny’s arrival. 

“Uh-uh, little miss,” Jenna tugged on the back of her daughter’s shirt before she could scamper away. “You need to wash your hands extra good before you can go play with Kenny. Come on, up you get.” 

Jenna helped Lulu onto the step stool to reach the sink, squirting a healthy dose of soap onto her daughter’s hands and making her scrub until Jenna was satisfied. She followed her bouncing daughter into the diner, greeting Ogie with a quick hug and a hello. 

“Hey there, little miss Lulu!” Ogie exclaimed, holding his arms ready for Lulu to jump into them and get spun around just like she always wanted to. 

The sound of giggles filled the diner, and the couple at table three smiled fondly at the little girl and her baby ‘cousin.’ Ogie quietly told her facts about Kenny, and with a nearly unnoticeable wave of his hand, allowed Jenna to escape back to her work. He’d really been a lifesaver for Jenna when she’d started back up at the diner after having Lulu, volunteering to watch her for part of her shift in the mornings while he worked from home. As soon as Jenna was back on her feet enough to afford her own place, he had helped with moving all of Lulu’s baby things in his Toyota Yaris. Now that Dawn and Ogie had Kenny, she offered to babysit him as often as she could for them, knowing the struggle of having a newborn but still needing that time to reconnect and get back a little of themselves. 

Jenna worked quickly and efficiently for another hour, taking the pastries out of the oven and plating them for serving, baking the pies she’d prepared yesterday, including the Crisp Autumn Breeze pie. She brought multiple trays of baked goods out to the floor, but Lulu was so wrapped up in Kenny, she didn’t even notice. Soon enough Ogie and Kenny had to leave, though, so Jenna made sure Lulu had her backpack of activities in a little booth visible from the counter while she prepared for the brunch crowd. 

Lunchtime came around, and with it, the majority of the rush for Sunday. Lulu did some reading of her chapter book for class (Jenna prided herself on teaching Lulu her letters so early) while Jenna and Dawn fielded the rush of meal and pie orders. Cal dropped off a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich to Lulu while they were busy, and Jenna caught the beam that Lulu gave her grouchy cook. 

When Cal got back to the kitchen, Jenna commented, “You know Cal, I feed her more often at home than here, but whenever you give her a meal, it’s like a damn delight for you to feed her. Ridiculous, isn’t it?” 

Cal just laughed and shook his head, not deigning that with a response. 

“Whatever, Cal, I know you like getting one of Lulu’s famous smiles,” Jenna chuckled. 

The lunch rush finally ended around one, and Jenna sent Dawn home soon after that. Cal stayed until one thirty, cleaning up, but Jenna wouldn’t let him stay any longer to close up. With his departure, it was just Jenna and Lulu in the diner; one of her favorite times. She was helping Lulu work through a math problem she’d read in her book when the bell tinkling on the door caught her attention. 

Her mouth went dry at the sight of Dr. Pomatter standing in the entrance, a sheepish expression on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, this got away from me a bit, but it turns out I just really wanted to explore a day at the diner, so I did just that! Don't worry though, we'll get alllll of that interaction between Jenna & Dr. Pomatter in the next chapter! 
> 
> As always, all thoughts and comments are hugely appreciated! 
> 
> ~Madi


	3. Crisp Autumn Breeze Pie Slice Two

Jenna stayed frozen in her seat at the table, completely forgetting she was supposed to be checking Lulu’s work on the math problem. She shook her head and murmured to Lulu quietly, running a hand softly over her daughter’s hair before rising to speak with Dr. Pomatter. 

“Sorry for getting here so close to closing, I didn’t mean to interrupt time with your daughter,” Dr. Pomatter rushed out, blushing. 

She waved a hand dismissively. “It’s all right, Dr. Pomatter. You want some pie?” 

“Oh, uh, sure, whatever’s easiest for you, Jenna,” he said, running a hand through his hair nervously. 

Jenna walked to the display case and grabbed the last slice of Crisp Autumn Breeze Pie and a fork, walking it over to a table some distance from Lulu so they could speak without her really being able to hear them. He dutifully followed, unzipping his coat and shrugging it off. They both sat, Jenna nervously looking back at her daughter, hard at work on her math homework, before turning her attention back to the man in front of her. 

He’d already taken a bite of the pie, and was clearly in heaven. 

“Do you like it, then?” Jenna asked, annoyed with herself for wanting validation of her pie skills from him all of a sudden. 

He nodded, “Yes, this is delightful. Is this a new pie?”

“It is, I came up with it this weekend actually. Crisp Autumn Breeze Pie,” she answered. 

Taking another large bite, he chewed thoughtfully as he worked through all of the flavors. Jenna twisted her hands in her lap, not knowing what to say next. 

Dr. Pomatter swallowed and smiled brightly at her. “I know I’ve said this to you before, but you truly have a gift with food, Jenna.” 

Jenna blushed and looked down at her lap. 

“I’m so sorry, I forgot you don’t take compliments well,” he said.

She shook her head and looked back up at him with a grateful smile. “Well, I’ve gotten better at it since the National Pie Contest a couple years ago, but you’re right, I still don’t do well with them.” 

He chuckled, and finished the slice in two quick bites, politely wiping his mouth with the napkin. Jenna looked away from his lips, instead choosing a distant spot on the far wall to focus on. She noticed Lulu had switched from her math homework to coloring, and turned her gaze back on Dr. Pomatter. 

“Dr. Pomatter, why did you come back to my pie shop?” she asked suddenly, her self-preservation kicking in. 

He blinked a few times, registering her question. “I, uh, don’t really have a response for that.” 

Jenna clenched her hand into a fist under the table, her nails digging into the skin of her palm. She glanced at his left hand, noticing the even tan his ring finger had. “Fine. Then I’ve got another question for you.” 

“Shoot,” he cut in. 

“Are you still married to Francine?” Jenna bit her lip, cursing herself for being so unable to hide her thoughts and fears from him even after six years away. 

Dr. Pomatter’s hand flexed subconsciously on the table, and a brief expression of grief crossed his face. “No. We, uh, separated about a year after you and I--we’ve been divorced for about four years now,” he finished quietly. 

She nodded at his statement, refusing to let the feelings in her belly color her next question. “I’m sorry things ended between you two.”

“I’m not,” he looked at Jenna, blues eyes hard. “After… After she finished her residency and we went back to Connecticut, I realized how much of my adult life was spent doing things for her and not necessarily for me. It took me a while to figure that out, but I think it was worth it, in the long run.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re in a better place now,” Jenna said. 

“Thank you, I am too. I’m actually hoping to move elsewhere soon, just to give her more space. Are you…?” he trailed off. 

“Still with Earl? No, the divorce was finalized pretty quickly after Lulu was born, and he’s got no visitation rights,” she said tightly. 

Dr. Pomatter just gave her a small, reassuring smile. “Well, clearly you’re doing very well for yourself with the pie diner, if my eyes aren’t deceiving me.” 

Jenna smiled back, happy to talk about her business. “Yes, well Old Joe left it to me when he passed, but I just didn’t have the heart to change its core working, so I just renamed it for little Lulu and kept up most of the same practices he had. I think Lulu loves it most because she always gets the best compliments for treats she takes into her kindergarten class that I make for her.”

They both chuckled and glanced at the little blonde girl coloring away in her own world across the diner. Jenna lingered on her daughter, feeling Dr. Pomatter’s eyes on her face. She fiddled with the pen in her apron, finally pulling back to look at him. The intensity of his gaze caught her off guard and went straight to the pit of her belly. 

“So, Dr. Pomatter, do you think you’ll keep driving this afternoon to get back to Connecticut?” Jenna forced out. 

He jumped a little. “Oh, uh, yeah, I think I’ll make it another six hours or so, probably stop off in Pennsylvania for the night.” 

“Well, I don’t want to keep you any longer, then,” Jenna said, standing up and taking his dirty plate. 

Dr. Pomatter stood too, grabbing his coat with one hand. He reached to his back pocket for his wallet, but Jenna tapped him on the wrist to stop him. 

“On the house, Dr. Pomatter. It was nice to see you again,” she stated truthfully. 

“It was nice to see you too, Jenna,” he replied, eyes unreadable. 

Jenna impulsively took out her ticketpad and wrote down her phone number, handing him the paper. “Here, just in case you’re coming this way again sometime and wanted to check if the diner was open.” 

He took the paper from her, their fingers brushing. She inhaled sharply at the touch, but he just carefully folded the paper up and put it into his pants pocket. “Thank you, Jenna. I’ll be sure to let you know.” 

With that, he put his coat on and walked out of the dinner, looking back at Jenna as he opened the door. She smiled at him, receiving a smile in return, and then he was gone. 

Jenna exhaled slowly, hands on her hips, before composing herself to return to Lulu. 

“Are you all done with your homework, Lulu?” 

“Yes mama,” she replied. “Who was that man?” 

Jenna frowned; she continued to forget how perceptive her daughter could be sometimes. “Oh, just a friend I haven’t seen in a long time. He’s the doctor that helped mama deliver you, you know.” 

Lulu’s eyes got saucer wide at this revelation. “Wow, that’s so cool!” 

“Mhmm,” Jenna hummed. “You can have ten more minutes of coloring while I close up shop, okay Lulu?” 

“Okay!” 

Satisfied her daughter would be occupied, Jenna tidied up the remaining things at the front before taking Dr. Pomatter’s dirty plate and the empty pie tin into the back to wash. She let herself be a little selfish and bring back memories of her and Dr. Pomatter’s time together while washing the dishes. The insights from their conversation didn’t help the feelings that were resurfacing, but after the dishes were set in the drying rack, Jenna shut those thoughts away and focused on making sure everything would be ready to go for tomorrow morning. 

Ten minutes later saw her and Lulu bundled up against the chill breeze and driving home in the late afternoon sunshine. When Lulu was settled in the front room with her toys, Jenna went to the kitchen and made herself a steaming mug of black tea. She sat down on the sofa in the front room and picked up her book to try and read while Lulu played, but kept finding her focus wandering back to Dr. Pomatter. Jenna sighed and rubbed her temples. Damn if she didn’t need to talk to Becky about all this, it was too much for her to process on her own. 

**~*~*~*~**

Lulu went to bed late that night, nearly eight-thirty p.m., which had Jenna more frazzled than it should have. She finally felt calm enough to call Becky at nine. As soon as Becky picked up and heard what Jenna was calling about, she hung up and drove the seven minutes over. 

Jenna greeted her at the door with an eye roll but let her in regardless. 

“Lulu took forever to fall asleep tonight, but I just needed your outside perspective to help me make sense of all this,” Jenna explained. 

“Say no more, just give me the juicy details, honey,” Becky said, accepting a mug of Earl Grey from Jenna. 

Becky was a captive audience as Jenna rehashed Dr. Pomatter’s return visit to the pie shop today. She perked up at hearing he was divorced and that he was looking to move, but Jenna shushed her to continue the story. Finally, Jenna was done talking. 

“Oh honey, that man clearly doesn’t know his own heart if he made an impulse stop here twice just for your pie!” Becky cackled. 

“Shh, Becky, don’t wake Lulu up!” Jenna admonished. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Becky apologized. “What do you think?” 

“What do I think about what?” 

“Him. His divorce. His desire to move soon. All of it.” 

“Becky, that’s why you’re here, to help me figure that out!” 

Becky raised her mug to her lips, taking a long sip and raising her eyebrows at Jenna. Jenna stuttered and waved her arms helplessly. 

“I don’t see why you’re worrying so much about it, Jenna. I mean, sure you broke things off and then he left and you had little Lulu to take care of, but I also don’t think he’s seriously considering moving here of all places. Just don’t overthink it, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt if things don’t turn out.”

Jenna smiled gratefully at her friend. “Thanks, Becky. I guess it’s just caught me so off guard, I didn’t know what to think, especially with Lulu being so perceptive about things sometimes. I just didn’t want her to get curious about him and then force me to explain that whole mess of my life back then. She’s not old enough for that yet.” 

Becky nodded her head as Jenna spoke. “I agree, hun. I think you’ll feel better though if you come up with a pie about him and then move on.” 

“Becky!” 

“You know I’m right and you know that I know you’re going to do it and try to hide it otherwise, so let’s just be open about it.” 

“Damn you, Becky, you know me too well.” 

“What are friends for?” 

**~*~*~*~January, four months later~*~*~*~**

When she didn’t get a message saying he’d made it back to Connecticut safely, Jenna tried not to let her disappointment show in front of Becky and Dawn, and definitely hid it from Lulu. She didn’t really know what she was disappointed for, and did not care to unpack feelings from six years ago on a whisper of a wind of something from four months ago. 

Her phone stayed on silent most times, but today was busy and she was waiting on a call from one of her suppliers, so her ringer was on. She missed the ping of a new text message while taking pastries out of the oven, but several more pings in quick succession had her pulling her phone out of her apron as soon as the pastries were on the cooling racks. 

_New Text Message from Dr. Jim Pomatter 1 min ago_  
_New Text Message from Dr. Jim Pomatter 1 min ago_  
_New Text Message from Dr. Jim Pomatter 1 min ago_  
_New Text Message from Dr. Jim Pomatter 2 min ago_  
_New Text Message from Dr. Jim Pomatter 2 min ago_  
_New Text Message from Dr. Jim Pomatter 2 min ago_  
_New Text Message from Dr. Jim Pomatter 5 min ago_

“Jesus,” Jenna muttered. Unlocking her phone, she opened the messages app and scrolled to the top of his texts, which got significantly shorter after the first one. 

_2:36 pm_  
Hi Jenna, this is Jim Pomatter, I didn’t know if you had my number or not. Anyway, sorry for not talking to you sooner. I, uh, didn’t really know what to say, so I just didn’t say anything. But now I have some news that I think you would appreciate knowing. I am moving out of Connecticut, and moving to Louisville! More precisely, I’m moving next week.

 _2:39 pm_  
I’m sorry to spring that on you! It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for me, to be honest. 

_2:39 pm_  
I didn’t know how to say it. Long story short, I got a job at a practice in Louisville, far away from Francine, and that’s all that I cared about. 

_2:39 pm_  
I’m sorry again for the lack of contact. 

_2:40 pm_  
I won’t try to come up with an excuse for not texting or calling you. I just didn’t know what to say.

 _2:40 pm_  
You don’t have to respond if you don’t want to, I completely understand. 

_2:40 pm_  
Sorry for all the messages. 

Jenna finished reading and then waited to see if any more would come through. Two full minutes passed as she stood there, staring at her phone screen, until she decided he wasn’t sending any more. 

She took three deep breaths, then decidedly put her phone away and put the cooled pastries into their appropriate serving trays to refill the front. Next, she took out a pie tin and some pie crust, rolling it out thin as she dared to make her Mermaid Marshmallow pie. Then, the crust was put into the oven for a blind bake, and she prepared the filling, adding in a little bit of blue, green, and purple coloring to swirl together. When it was ready, she took the pie tin out of the oven, poured in the swirly filling, and put it back into the oven to bake for twenty minutes. It wasn’t until she had taken the pie out of the oven for the final time to let it cool that she let herself think about his messages. 

Dr. Pomatter was moving to Louisville, which was only an hour away by car, and he was moving there in a week. A week! She felt woozy just thinking about it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, I'm finally back with chapter 3! Please let me know what you think :) 
> 
> ~Madi


End file.
